The passage of hardened steel blades over ice dulls blades made of even the best grades of steel and resharpening is frequently necessary. Typically ice skate blades are sharpened by machining or grinding the blade edges on a milling machine or a grinding machine, respectively, or by manually passing hand-held sharpening tools, or honing stones, repeatedly over the blade face. Regardless of the sharpening method, burrs often form along the lateral edges of the blade. These burrs may be dangerous to the ice skater wearing the skates or other skaters because the burrs are usually jagged and sharp, and they may cause serious injuries. In addition, the presence of burrs on the blade edges decreases the speed the skater may attain and may cause problems with the skater's control. Thus, it is desirable to remove burrs from the edges of skate blades.
A number of hand-held devices for treating blade edges have been developed, including devices which merely sharpen blades and devices which both sharpen and deburr blades.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,173,627 to Whitcomb, 2,092,831 to Cannon, 2,428,473 to Slocum, and 4,882,953 to Kalka disclose blade sharpening devices.
Whitcomb '627 discloses a blade sharpener, specifically directed toward knife blades, which consists of two members having a number of cooperating fingers, each finger having a roughened inner face. The fingers are arranged in a staggered relation relative to each other and are forced to engage each other, creating a V-shaped configuration. A knife blade is inserted between the members at the point the fingers engage and the blade is reciprocated transversely of the fingers until the knife had been sharpened sufficiently. A disadvantage of Whitcomb '627 is that the device disclosed therein may not be used to sharpen ice skate blades because the device is designed to sharpen blades to a point. Ice skate blades, however, are sharpened such that the face of the blade is either planar or concave.
Cannon '831 and Slocum '473 both disclose blade sharpening devices directed specifically toward ice skate blades. Both prior art devices are essentially housings for sharpening stones, the basic difference being that in the Slocum '473 device, the sharpening stone is positioned such that blades having a planar face may be sharpened, while in the Cannon '831 device, the sharpening stone is positioned for sharpening blades having a concave face. To sharpen a blade using either prior art device, one must simply insert the blade into a provided channel so that the blade contacts the sharpening stone, press the stone against the blade, and reciprocate the device transversely of the blade. A disadvantage of the devices disclosed in Cannon '831 and Slocum '473 is that although both devices my create burrs along the edges of blades being sharpened, neither device provides for removing the burrs.
The device disclosed in Kalka '953 is a sharpener for the steel strips along the edges of the bottom surfaces of skis. The device consists of a base with a wall extending perpendicular from the base, and an alloy cutting insert mounted in a recess at the end of the junction of the base and the wall. During operation the base is positioned to slide along the bottom of the ski, thus providing a guide for the device, while a surface of the cutting insert is pressed against the face of the steel strip to be sharpened. The device is then moved along the edge of the ski so that the cutting insert can dig into the steel strip, thus shaving off a thin layer of the strip and sharpening it. A disadvantage of the Kalka '953 device is that, like the devices disclosed in Cannon '831 and Slocum '473, the device only sharpens and may even create burrs, but does nothing to remove them. A further disadvantage is that, even if one attempted to use the device to remove burrs along the edges of an ice skate blade, the device would dig into the sides of the blade and shave off a layer thereof, thereby reducing the thickness of the blade, an undesirable result.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,542,281 to Lefteruk, 4,815,240 to Larson, 5,445,050 to Owens, and 5,499,556 to Exner et al. disclose ice skate blade sharpeners which also provide for the removal of burrs along the edges of the blade.
Lefteruk '281 discloses an ice skate blade sharpening device which houses an elongated honing stone. In order to remove burrs created during sharpening, a set screw holding the honing stone in place is loosened and the stone is shifted such that a portion of the stone extends out of the device. The exposed portion of the stone is moved across the edge of the blade to remove burrs. A disadvantage of Lefteruk '281 is that the invention disclosed therein does not provide a channel or guide for the blade during deburring. The operator may therefore hold the device such that the honing stone is not pressed flat against the side of the blade when removing burrs, thereby grinding off the sharp edge at the junction of the side and face of the blade. Even if the honing stone is pressed flat against the sides of the blade, the deburring operation using a honing stone may grind off part of the side of the blade, thus reducing the thickness thereof. Another disadvantage of this prior art is that the device contains relatively many and varied components, which may make the device costly to manufacture and prone to mechanical failure. A further disadvantage of Lefteruk '281 is that the device is designed for both sharpening and deburring, thus requiring the operator to expend money on the sharpening elements of the device even if only a deburring device is desired, as would be the case if a milling or grinding machine were used to sharpen the blade.
Larson '240 discloses an ice skate blade sharpener which provides for a honing surface disposed to facilitate the removal of burrs. The device has two channels, one for housing a honing stone positioned for sharpening and the other for housing a honing stone positioned for deburring. The sharpening channel is defined by two parallel facing surfaces of the housing, with the bottom of the channel being a convex honing stone for sharpening blades having a concave face. The deburring channel is defined by the housing on the bottom and on one parallel side, with the other parallel side being defined by a honing stone. Deburring is accomplished by inserting the blade into the deburring channel, the width of which is greater than the width of the blade, pressing the stone against the side of the blade, and reciprocating the device transversely of the blade. A disadvantage of Larson '240 is that the invention disclosed therein does not provide an adjustable channel or guide for blades of differing thicknesses. During deburring, the operator may therefore hold the device such that the honing stone is not pressed flat against the side of the blade, thereby grinding off the sharp edge at the junction of the sides and face of the blade. Even if the honing stone is pressed flat against the sides of the blade, the deburring operation using a honing stone may grind off part of the side of the blade, thus reducing the thickness thereof. Another disadvantage of this prior art device is that the honing stones are not replaceable, and once they become worn, the entire device must be replaced. Yet another disadvantage of Larson '240 is that the device is designed for both sharpening and deburring, thus requiring the operator to expend money on the sharpening elements of the device even if only a deburring device is desired, as would be the case if a milling or grinding machine were used to sharpen the blade.
Owens '050 and Exner et al. '556 disclose sharpening and deburring devices for ice skate blades. The Owens '050 device has only one channel for sharpening and deburring, which is defined by two parallel facing honing stones, with the bottom of the channel defined by a convex honing stone. Sharpening and deburring is thus accomplished in one step. The device disclosed in Exner et al. '556 has two channels, one for housing a honing stone positioned for sharpening and the other for housing two honing stones positioned for deburring. The sharpening channel is defined by two parallel facing surfaces of the housing, with the bottom of the channel being a cylindrical honing stone for sharpening blades having a concave face. The deburring channel is defined by two parallel facing surfaces of honing stones, with the bottom of the channel being left open. Deburring in both devices is accomplished by inserting the blade into the deburring channel, the width of which is slightly greater than the width of the blade, pressing the sides of the device together to press the honing stones against the sides of the blade, and reciprocating the device transversely of the blade. A disadvantage of both Owens '050 and Exner et al. '556 is that by applying pressure to the honing stones during the deburring operation, the stones may grind off part of the sides of the blade, thus reducing the thickness thereof. Another disadvantage of both devices is that once the honing stones become worn, the entire device must be replaced, as the honing stones may not be replaced. A further disadvantage of the two prior art devices is that they are designed for both sharpening and deburring, thus requiring the operator to expend money on the sharpening elements of the device even if only a deburring device is desired, as would be the case if a milling or grinding machine were used to sharpen the blade.
What is desired, therefore, is a device for deburring ice skate blades which deburrs the blade without reducing the thickness thereof, which is adjustable to accommodate blades of various thicknesses, which deburrs the blade without dulling the sharp edge of the blade at the junction of the blade's side and face, which is inexpensive to produce, and which contains replaceable parts so that worn components may be replaced without requiring replacement of the entire device.